Police: Man tossed neighbor's dog out second story window

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TACOMA, Wash. -- Prosecutors have charged a Tacoma man with first degree animal cruelty after he allegedly tossed his neighbor's chihuahua out a second story window.

Police say they were at George G. Harris' apartment four times between Monday night and Tuesday afternoon for a litany of reasons surrounding Harris' claims of a dispute with his neighbor.

According to court documents, Harris first called 911 Monday around 5:15 p.m. to report that his house had been broken into and he was sure it was his neighbor who had done so. Tacoma police officers arrived to find no evidence of a burglary and left.

Four hours later, Harris once again called 911, this time telling dispatchers he had been attacked by a friend of the neighbor, prosecutors said. Harris told those officers that his neighbor had stolen two marijuana plants, and a TV and that he was sure his neighbors had done it because of a "cookie trail" left from his unit to theirs -- which the officers were not able to find, according to investigators.

Harris also claimed he had been attacked with a shovel and punched in the face several times, even though officers found no evidence of any injuries to Harris' face, investigators said. The officers' report noted Harris was "obviously having a mental/drug issue," the documents said, adding Harris refused to talk to a mental health professional at the time.

Another hour later, officers were called to the home a third time after Harris reported suicidal thoughts, the court documents read. The dispatcher's log notes officers took a person to St. Joseph's Hospital.

Wednesday, officers were back at the apartment once again after dispatchers got a call from a woman screaming into the phone that someone had thrown her dog out the window. The woman, who prosecutors wrote was the neighbor Harris had accused of burglarizing the apartment, told officers she and her daughter had been looking for their long-haired chihuahua and asked her other children to knock on Harris' door. She said she then saw Harris throw her dog from an upstairs window about 30 feet off the ground, according to court documents. The woman reported her dog landed on concrete and was now limping and bleeding.

The dog was taken by animal control officers to the local Humane Society where it was treated for a possible fracture but was expected to recover.

Meanwhile, officers interviewed Harris, who denied throwing the dog and again alleged he was burglarized by his neighbor. The neighbor later showed detectives a text message she received from Harris stating that he was going to war with her.